Gratitude changes your brain chemistry. Proven. Happy brain chemicals mean that you’ve got more clarity and courage. Proven. There are zero downsides to making gratitude part of your wellness practice.

As with all “inner world” practices, we need to apply some intelligence to this. Because sometimes, the How-to, or 7-Steps, or “I’m so thankful” process can create even more illusions and stuckness…

WEEK 5: GRATITUDE

This is an exercise in CONSCIOUS GRATITUDE. Smart gratitude. Discerning gratitude. We’re not going to sugarcoat the tough stuff and automatically say, “There’s a gift in the pain.” Pain is only a gift if you do the emotional and mental work to transform the pain into power. THAT’s the discerning, conscious part.

Conscious gratitude has been one of the most healing and creative practices in my life. It gets me out of my funk EVERY TIME. And it’s the source of a lot of my productivity. Conscious gratitude heals you, it’s generative, and it’s incredibly empowering.

The intention with this Free & Clear exercise is to transform gratitude from a sweet and moderately useful practice, to a life elixir. We’re going to get alchemical.

Here’s an excerpt from my last book, White Hot Truth, about examining and refining our gratitude.

WHITE HOT TRUTH : CHAPTER 16

REGARDING SUFFERING: Soul, pain, perspective

What exactly to be grateful for…

I am not grateful for being ousted from a company that I co-founded. I am not grateful for losing $90,000 on a business idea gone south. I am not thankful for the Spirit-crushing ramifications of one particular relationship. And I really could have done without that two-year bout of a mystery illness. There have been losses. And trials that wore me down until I begged for a break.

But holy hell, am I profoundly grateful for everything that I learned from those challenges. I’m with Maya Angelou: “Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now.” I would not turn back the clock, or take back one tear, tremor, or dollar. All those moments that I had to quell the adrenaline with the power of my mind, or carry buckets of integrity back from the well when I thought it might be dry—that was some serious training. All those revelations of responsibility! So many illusions that got burned down! The flames that scarred me are the flames that purified and lifted me up—because I gave myself over to the fire, willing to learn, wanting to know. I got down on my knees, peered under the clouds of smoke and fear, and said, “Let me see what’s really going on here.”

And when I thank Life for what those challenges provided me with, I say, Thank you for helping me see clearly. For helping me see where I can grow and how I can get there. Thank you for helping me see where Love is and where fear lurks, and where the Truth has always been.

There’s no need to be grateful for your hardships and for the perpetrators themselves. Because, remember: the Universe brings you more of what you are grateful for. So be grateful for the Faith and the friends that held you when it all fell apart.

Be grateful that you have the capacity to transform suffering into learning, and brokenness into resilience. Be grateful for your strength to handle the challenge.

Gratitude. Sweet, uplifting, and proven to be good for our brain chemistry.

All Love,

Almost there…The next Free & Clear installment is the finisher. We will PRIORITIZE PLEASURE. We will put a cherry on top, take a deep and self-satisfied inhale, and feel the sweetness of being clearer than we were a few weeks ago.

Danielle LaPorte is an invited member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, a group who, in Oprah Winfrey’s words, “is uniquely connecting the world together with a spiritual energy that matters.” She is author of White Hot Truth: Clarity for keeping it real on your spiritual path—from one seeker to another. The Fire Starter Sessions, and The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul—the book that has been translated into 8 languages, evolved into a yearly day planner system, a top 10 iTunes app, and an international workshop program with licensed facilitators in 15 countries. Named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes, millions of visitors go to DanielleLaPorte.com every month for her daily #Truthbombs and what’s been called “the best place online for kickass spirituality.” A speaker, a poet, a painter, and a former business strategist and Washington-DC think tank exec, Entrepreneur Magazine calls Danielle, “equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass…edgy, contrarian…loving and inspired.” Her charities of choice are Eve Ensler’s VDay: a global movement to end violence against women and girls, and charity: water, setting out to bring safe drinking water to everyone in the world. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her favourite philosopher, her son. You can find her @daniellelaporte and just about everywhere on social media.